Fisker Automotive says it is quite capable of building a plug-in hybrid without stealing the design from Tesla Motors and Tesla's claims to the contrary are "nonsense."
Company founder and renowned car designer Henrik Fisker says Tesla's lawsuit claiming he cribbed from its confidential files to design the Fisker Karma plug-in sedan is "meritless" and the company will defend itself "vigorously."
"The lawsuit is nonsense," Fisker says in the statement, which provides a glimpse of how Fisker might fight back.
Tesla argues that Fisker, as head of Fisker Coachbuild, and his chief operating officer signed a contract in February 2007 to design a sedan codenamed WhiteStar, then used Tesla's confidential design information and trade secrets to launch Fisker Automotive and the Karma less than a year later. It's suing for breach of contract.
Fisker and his company aren't commenting beyond the statement, which says Fisker did nothing wrong because "Fisker Coachbuild has non-exclusive design contracts as shown by the cars we have designed for a variety of manufacturers." What's more, the company says it was working with Quantum Technologies to develop the Karma before Henrik Fisker signed the $875,000 contract to design the WhiteStar.
"In January of 2007 I first met Henrik Fisker," Alan Niedzwiecki, Quantum's CEO, says in the statement. "Soon thereafter, I became convinced that a strategic alliance joining together Quantum's unique technology position with Fisker's design expertise could be leveraged into a company capable of launching the first premium sports sedan for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle market."
Quantum introduced its Q-Drive hybrid drivetrain in 2003. It has since developed hydrogen fuel cell hybrids and diesel-electric hybrids for the U.S. Army and it signed a deal in March 2007 to build 20 Ford Escape plug-in hybrids for California's South Coast Air Quality Management District. In February, the company announced a $14.5 million deal with Fisker to "advance and integrate" Q-Drive in a production version of the Karma.
Fisker's statement also makes a point of noting, "Henrik Fisker has more than 19 years of experience in the automotive and product design arena. Some of his pioneering work includes work on the BMW E-1 electric car in 1991."
Fisker doesn't say so explicity, but it looks like the company plans to argue that Henrik Fisker was free to work on his own car after signing the contract with Tesla and he already had Quantum's drivetrain and know-how when he started working on the WhiteStar.
Tesla doesn't see it that way, of course. Tesla attorney Adam C. Belsky told us the day after he filed the lawsuit that although Fisker's contract included a provision allowing him to do design work for other firms, that doesn't mean he can take Tesla's information and ... develop an electric car directly competitive with Tesla's car." The company also argues Fisker did such shoddy work it had to scrap his design and start from scratch.
None of this is delaying work on the Karma. The company says it "is on track for delivery of the Fisker Karma in Q4 2009."
We'll see.
